Editing Port of Spain (section)

== History ==
{{More citations needed|section|date=April 2025}}
[[File:Government House Trinidad 1914.jpg|thumb|left|300px|Government House, Port of Spain, 1914]]
Port of Spain was founded by the Spanish as {{lang|es|Puerto España}}. The first settlement was near the site of the [[Amerindian]] fishing village of Cumucurapo ("place of the [[Ceiba pentandra|silk cotton trees]]"), located in the area today known as Mucurapo, west of the city centre.<ref>{{cite web |title=Port-au-Spain, Trinidad (1650–) |url=https://www.blackpast.org/global-african-history/places-global-african-history/port-au-spain-trinidad-1650/ |publisher=BlackPast |access-date=14 April 2025}}</ref> The name Conquerabia is also recorded for an Amerindian settlement in this area; this may have been a separate village, another name for Cumucurapo, or the result of miscomprehension by early Spanish settlers, who established a port here: {{lang|es|Puerto de los Españoles}}, later {{lang|es|Puerto de España}}. In 1560, a Spanish garrison was posted near the foot of the [[Laventille]] Hills, which today form the city's eastern boundary.<ref>{{cite book |last=Newson |first=Linda A. |title=The Cost of Conquest: Indian Decline in Honduras under Spanish Rule |year=1986 |publisher=Westview Press |page=148}}</ref>

The part of today's downtown Port of Spain closest to the sea was once an area of tidal mudflats covered by [[mangroves]]. The first Spanish buildings here, in the 16th and 17th centuries, were open mud-plastered ajoupas, interspersed between large silk cotton trees and other trees. The fort was a mud-walled enclosure with a shack inside, a flagpole, two or three cannon, and few Spanish soldiers. This was captured during [[Walter Raleigh]]'s [[Raleigh's El Dorado Expedition|expedition]] in April 1595.<ref>{{cite book |last=Raleigh |first=Walter |title=The Discovery of the Large, Rich, and Beautiful Empire of Guiana |year=1596 |publisher=Hakluyt Society |url=https://archive.org/details/discoveryguiana00raleuoft}}</ref>

The [[Kalina people|Caribs]] were transient, travelling to the mainland (now [[Venezuela]]) and up the [[Orinoco River]]. The French naval commander {{lang|fr|[[Victor Marie, duc d'Estrées|Comte d'Estrées]]|italic=no}} visited in 1680, and reported that there was no Port of Spain. But in 1690, Spanish governor Don Sebastien de Roteta reported in writing to the [[King of Spain]]. In 1699, the {{lang|es|[[alcalde]]}} of Trinidad reported to the king that the natives "were in the habit of showering scorn and abuse upon the Holy Faith and ridiculed with jests the efforts of the Holy Fathers".<ref>{{cite book |last=Anthony |first=Michael |title=Historical Dictionary of Trinidad and Tobago |publisher=Scarecrow Press |year=1997 |isbn=9780810833177}}</ref>

By 1757, the old capital, San José de Oruña (modern [[Saint Joseph (Trinidad and Tobago)|Saint Joseph]]), about {{convert|7|mi|km|order=flip|0}} inland, had fallen into disrepair, and [[List of Governors of Trinidad|Governor]] Don Pedro de la Moneda transferred his seat to Port of Spain, which thus became Trinidad's de facto capital. The last Spanish Governor of Trinidad, Don [[José Maria Chacón]], devoted much of his time to developing the new capital. He compelled the island's Cabildo (governing council) to move to Port of Spain, and he limited its powers to the municipality. The 1783 Cedula of Population, which encouraged the settlement of French [[Catholics]] in the island, led to a rapid increase in the town's population and its geographical extension westwards.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Cedula of Population (1783) |url=https://nlj.gov.jm/history-notes/cedula-of-population-1783/ |publisher=National Library of Jamaica |access-date=14 April 2025}}</ref>

[[File:QRCClockTower2015.JPG|thumb|Historic [[Queen's Royal College]] Clock Tower 2015]]
From the small cluster of buildings at the foot of the Laventille Hills, eleven streets were laid out west to the area bounded by the St. Ann's River, thus establishing the grid pattern which has survived in downtown Port of Spain to the present day. Along the sea shore was the Plaza de la Marina (Marine Square), a parade ground. By 1786, the town had a population of about 3,000.<ref>{{cite book |last=Brereton |first=Bridget |title=A History of Modern Trinidad, 1783–1962 |publisher=Heinemann |year=1981 |page=23}}</ref>

[[File:RosarychurchHenrySt.jpg|thumb|Historic Gothic Rosary Church at the corner of Henry and Park Streets 2008]]
Realising that the St. Ann's River, prone to flooding, was impeding the expansion of the town, Chacón had its course diverted in 1787 so that it ran to the east of the city, along the foot of the Laventille Hills. Port of Spain was now able to continue spreading northwards and westwards, encroaching on the surrounding sugar-cane plantations.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Kenny |first=Julian |title=Natural Vegetation of Trinidad and Tobago |journal=Living World, Journal of the Trinidad and Tobago Field Naturalists' Club |year=2000 |url=https://ttfnc.org/livingworld/index.php/lwj/article/view/kenny2000 |access-date=14 April 2025}}</ref>

In 1797, Trinidad was invaded by a British force under General Sir [[Ralph Abercromby]]. The British landed west of Port of Spain, at what is still called Invaders Bay, and marched towards the town. Realising his military resources were inadequate to defend the colony and wishing to avoid unnecessary destruction, Governor Chacón capitulated and was able to negotiate generous terms with Abercromby.<ref>{{cite book |last=Anthony |first=Michael |title=The Making of Port of Spain |publisher=Port of Spain City Council |year=1990}}</ref>

[[File:Street scene, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago LCCN2006679496.jpg|thumb|left|A scene of a street in Port of Spain in 1900]]
In 1803, Port of Spain began growing southwards, with the reclamation of the foreshore mudflats, using fill from the Laventille Hills. In 1808, Port-of-Spain was destroyed by fire. At that time, it was a sprawling town of wood and shingle that had grown tremendously during the previous twenty-five years. As a result of this disaster the Government brought in legislation regarding building regulations, and the new government buildings were built of brick.<ref>{{cite web |title=Port of Spain – Capital with a Colonial Legacy |url=https://nationaltrust.tt/location/port-of-spain/ |publisher=National Trust of Trinidad and Tobago |access-date=14 April 2025}}</ref>

Further major reclamation efforts took place in the 1840s, the 1870s, and in 1906. In 1935, the Deep Water Harbour Scheme dredged the offshore area along Port of Spain's western neighbourhoods. Wrightson Road, linking downtown Port of Spain to its western suburbs, was constructed at the same time. These reclaimed lands were originally called Docksite, and were home to US forces during World War II.<ref>{{cite book |last=Williams |first=Eric |title=History of the People of Trinidad and Tobago |publisher=André Deutsch |year=1962}}</ref>

[[File:Indian Women go Shopping in Port of Spain, Trinidad, 1945, National Archives, UK.jpg|thumb|left|[[Indo-Trinidadian]] women shopping in Port of Spain in 1945]]
Port of Spain continued to grow in size and importance during the 19th and early 20th centuries, peaking in size in the 1960s at about 100,000 people. Since then, the population within the city limits has declined in size as the downtown area has become increasingly commercial. Today Port of Spain is the western hub of a metropolitan area stretching from Carenage to Arima along the [[East–West Corridor]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Urban Development in Trinidad |url=https://sta.uwi.edu/igds/sites/default/files/IGDS_urban_dev_report.pdf |publisher=University of the West Indies |access-date=14 April 2025}}</ref>

From 1958 to 1962, Port of Spain was the temporary capital of the [[West Indies Federation]], though there were plans to build a new federal capital at [[Chaguaramas, Trinidad|Chaguaramas]]. [[Federation Park]] in western Port of Spain was developed to house employees of the federal government.<ref>{{cite book |last=Brereton |first=Bridget |title=A History of Modern Trinidad, 1783–1962 |publisher=Heinemann |year=1981 |page=147}}</ref>

In July 1990, an extremist group held the prime minister and members of parliament hostage for 5 days while rioting and looting shook Port of Spain. The damage was a significant setback to the city's commercial district, yet businesses returned.<ref>{{cite web |title=Jamaat-al-Muslimeen coup attempt |url=https://caribbeanhistoryarchives.blogspot.com/2011/07/1990-coup-attempt-in-trinidad.html |publisher=Caribbean History Archives |access-date=14 April 2025}}</ref> In 2005, there was a series of bombings in Port of Spain that caused injuries to bystanders. They ceased in October 2005, but the perpetrator has not been charged.<ref>{{cite web |title=Trinidad and Tobago: Bombing in Port-of-Spain – Terrorist threats |url=http://www.worldtravelwatch.com/05/10/trinidad-and-tobago-bombing-in-port-of-spain.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080829115504/http://www.worldtravelwatch.com/05/10/trinidad-and-tobago-bombing-in-port-of-spain.html |archive-date=29 August 2008 |publisher=World Travel Watch |access-date=14 April 2025}}</ref>